How are the Aging Parents Going to Care for Their Mentally Retarded Children?

The issues posed by the aging communities of the world right now, from the Front Page Sections, translated…

The Social Welfare Department estimated that in fifteen years, the population of mentally retarded individuals over age forty-five had increased by almost ninety percent, the mentally retarded children become gray haired, with unstable teeth, blurred vision, aged alongside their parents. The elderly parents not being able to care for their aging young, is the biggest challenge that the cares of mentally retarded population that this nation is faced with right now.

The forum was held yesterday, the elderly branch of a foundation, Liu pointed out, that ninety percent of the mentally retarded individuals live at home, ten percent live in nursing care facilities, that on average, each household took care of one point three handicapped individuals, those who are severely retarded had the mental capacity of no more than five years of age, they’d needed constant care from around them, and the caretakers are mostly, the parents.  But, as the parents aged, they’re having difficulties caring for themselves, let alone their own young.

Liu said, although some of the mentally retarded individuals have siblings who can shoulder the care after the parents are gone, but in the past, there had been, instances of fraudulent claims of benefits.  She saw how after a mother passed away, left behind over ten million dollars in assets, and the older brother took the younger, mentally retarded brother to process the papers to abandon his claims to his mother’s assets, and after the older brother got the money, he’d, abandoned the younger mentally retarded brother completely, thus, the problem of assets management of these mentally retarded individuals needed great care and concerns too.

And, the mentally retarded individuals would rely greatly upon the caretakers, there was once a ninety-year-old mother who took care of her mentally retarded son for sixty years that passed away, and, after the mother died, the son was without anyone else, he’d stopped sleeping and eating altogether, and called out, “Where is my mom?”, all day long, couldn’t comprehend the meaning of “mom’s dead”, and it took the social workers, and the psychologists very long time, to finally, get him to eat something.

Liu believed, that in order to resolve the problems that comes with aging in the parents and the mentally incapacitated individuals, early intervention by the psychologists, as well as the social workers is a must, follow up on the families’ needs, educate the mentally retarded on what it means to die, even assist them in finding care after their caretakers die, to prevent the problems of after the parents died, the kids have no one to look after them.  

So, this, is an area that needed great concern in, because there’s no working system right now, set up to care for these handicapped individuals yet, and because their caretakers are all aging fast, and so, we need, to find a solution quick!